CAPE MAY -- The 563-foot U.S. Navy destroyer Arthur W. Radford will be scuttled about 30 miles from Cape May County's shore next month, making it the largest vessel sunk off the East Coast to serve as an artificial reef, according to a report on PressofAtlanticCity.com.

The destroyer is expected to become a prime attraction for SCUBA diving and fishing at the Deljerseyland Reef, which has become a joint project between New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland because it sits equidistant between the three states, the report said. The Radford is currently being stripped and prepared for sinking at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard at a cost of about $800,000 shared by the three states, the report said.

Creating a reef from subway carsThirty retired MTA subway cars were sunk off the coast of Cape May on Monday to help create the nation's most extensive artificial reef system. The subway cars provide a good habitat for marine life and eventually more than 600 will be found in the ocean around the area. (Video by Wayne Woolley/The Star-Ledger)